New US Russia sanctions bill riles Germany and Austria

Germany and Austria have sharply criticised the US Senate for tightening sanctions on Russia, accusing the US of threatening Europe’s energy supplies.

To become law the US sanctions bill still requires approval by the House of Representatives and the president.

It would mean US sanctions for European firms involved in major Russian oil and gas projects. One such project is Nord Stream 2 – a Baltic gas pipeline.

Russia is under Western sanctions over its role in the Ukraine conflict.

The new US bill is punishment for alleged Russian meddling in the US 2016 presidential election.

In a joint statement, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern said Europe’s energy supplies were “a matter for Europe, not for the United States”.

“To threaten companies in Germany, Austria and other European firms with fines in the US if they take part in or finance energy projects like Nord Stream 2 represents a new and negative dimension to US-European relations,” they added.

They said the sanctions were clearly about US liquefied natural gas exports, US jobs and squeezing Russia out of the European market.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of energy giant ExxonMobil, voiced concern about the new sanctions. He said he wanted to maintain “flexibility” with Russia, to keep channels open for dialogue.